Dennis Rodman Returns From North Korea Training Trip, Jan. 8 Exhibition Still On According To 'The Worm' And One Opportunistic Airline
ByDennis Rodman concluded his five-day trip to North Korea on Monday, USA Today reported. As of Sunday night, he still hadn't met with dictator Kim Jong Un, and declined comment when reporters questioned him on Monday, according to the Associated Press.
But this trip - Rodman's third in less than a year -- wasn't about meeting, humanizing, or whatever exactly he hopes to accomplish in his dealings with North Korea and its leader. This trip was about basketball. Rodman and his hall-of-fame credentials spent most of his time with the North Korean national team, training them for their supposed upcoming exhibition against ex-NBA players. Ironic, in a way, that Rodman - one of the latest bloomers in NBA history (he didn't even make his high school basketball team and spent a year after graduation as a janitor before hitting an unexpected growth spurt and finding his way in college) -- expects to have much impact on the North Korean team in just five days, but I suppose that's a lengthy visit for an American to North Korea. Likely, the trip was more about generating publicity for the exhibition.
That matchup is slated for Jan. 8, or 16 days away, in honor of Jong Un's 30th birthday, and its practicality is being questioned by a handful of news outlets. Rodman has yet to name which former NBA players will actually be playing (University Herald made its predictions here). The United States also prefers that its citizens avoid travelling to the oppressive country, for ideological (most recently the execution of Jong Un's uncle) and safety reasons.
At least one airline, however, believes in Rodman's game. Koryo tours, a British touring company with headquarters in Beijing, is offering twelve tickets that would include the game, the same hotel accommodations as the American players, and an exclusive meeting with higher members of the North Korean government, according to Sports Illustrated. (The company doesn't specify who, but those seeking to potentially meet Jong Un will at least be able to catch a glimpse at the game). Tickets are selling for $8951.
For better or worse, Rodman is the most famous American to have visited North Korea since Jong Un took over his father's rule in 2011. He's stubbornly left politics out of his communications with the soon-to-be 30 year-old dictator.
"That's not my problem. I can't deal with that," Rodman recently told USA Today of Jong Un's long list of human rights violations. His approach has been both praised and criticized.